This invention relates generally to a device which may be used in conjunction with a conventional nursing bottle having a flexible bag for holding the formula to prevent receipt of air by the infant while feeding, with or without supervision.
One of the problems encountered with an infant while feeding from a bottle is that the infant often receives air along with the fluid, causing the child to receive a concentration of air in its stomach, resulting in severe gastric distress of the infant. Although conventional nursing bottles which use a flexible bag for containing the formula state that as the formula is consumed, no air is received into the flexible bag, it can be shown that as the child nurses from such a flexible bag, interrupted nursing allows air pressure to equalize in the flexible bag allowing air to enter the bag which ultimately will be drawn in by the baby while nursing. Another problem in using the flexible bag is that a certain amount of formula remains essentially unremoveable.
Attempts have been made in the prior art to overcome these problems by providing a biasing means on the flexible bag which creates a pressure on the liquid in the flexible bag. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,348 issued to Sammaritano, a complex biasing means is shown disposed in a conventional nursing bottle. The device shown is quite complex and does not insure for uniform biasing throughout the nursing operation.
The present invention overcomes the problems found in the prior art by providing a pneumatic biasing means that can be utilized with any conventional nursing bottle having a flexible bag that allows for manually adjusting the fluid pressure in the bag to the desired dispensing pressure so that the child can easily receive the liquid from the nursing bottle preventing air from being received into the flexible bag.